Agricultural development with high technology needs a new approach

Vietnam's agriculture has developed through many production methods, from low to high, but the latter, although more advanced, does not negate the pre-existing methods, but inherits and selects Technological advancement to continue to apply. It can be said that in the latter mode of production there is always one or more elements of the former.

The world is increasingly under pressure of resource depletion, population growth, increased demand for raw materials and fuels for industry... that "land-based" agricultural production methods have had to be replaced by methods of agricultural production. production "based on science and technology". And the concept of High-tech Agriculture was born in that context.

At present, it can be said that there is no really convincing definition of "High-tech" as well as " High-tech agriculture ".". According to the Law on Science and Technology 2008, high technology is defined as “a technology with a high content of scientific research and technological development; integrated from modern scientific and technological achievements; create products with quality, outstanding features, high added value, friendly with the environment; play an important role in the formation of a new manufacturing or service industry or the modernization of an existing manufacturing or service industry. Also according to this law, any technology in the following areas is called "high", that is: Information technology; Biotechnology; New Material Technology and Automation Technology. However, the criteria for identifying high technology in agriculture are still only at a qualitative level, so in implementation it is difficult to distinguish between high technology and normal technology. For example, if it is said that biotechnology is high technology, for thousands of years Vietnamese people have applied "high technology", which is the application of enzyme technology in the production of soy sauce, fish sauce, wine...; Cell technology in extracting, grafting fruit trees, cuttings with sugarcane, pineapple, sweet potato, mulberry... and microbial technology in pickling, eggplant, making fermented pork roll... 

Due to the lack of quantitative criteria and indicators, the correct understanding of “high technology in agriculture” is still very vague. Many people believe that high technology in agriculture must always be associated with net houses, greenhouses, even greenhouses, Israeli-style automatic drip irrigation combined with fertilizer and hydroponic farming. In the greenhouses, there are temperature control systems, humidity sensors, etc. This is the thinking of agricultural production in a protected environment, a large investment, which is only suitable for urban agriculture. suburban areas or areas that are too unfavorable for weather conditions.

In addition, setting goals for high-tech applications is not accurate. High-tech application production has 5 basic functions: i) Trade, ii) technology training/incubation, iii) Technology research and development, iv) Technology demonstration and transfer, and v. ) entertainment, entertainment/travel. However, most of the production models applying high technology in the past time have had a small scale, many new models just stop at "technology demonstration" but not "commercial production".

Since the National Assembly passed the Law on High Technology in 2008, over 14 years, the Government, Prime Minister, ministries and branches have issued 01 Decree, 10 Decisions of the Prime Minister, 13 Decisions and 13 Decisions of the Prime Minister. Circulars of ministries and branches, not to mention local documents. Unfortunately, most of the above documents are individual decisions, and the most important document, the Decree guiding the implementation of the Law on High Technology, has not been issued (the existing Decree is Decree 99). 2003/ND-CP on the promulgation of the Regulation on High-Tech Parks). Therefore, in local implementation, it is still very confusing

According to the Department of Science, Technology and Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), only 6/63 localities have recognized 16 hi-tech agricultural areas (Lam Dong has 5 regions, Dak Nong 4, Kien Giang 3, An Giang 2, Ba Ria-Vung Tau 1, Phu Yen 1 area, including 6 aquaculture areas, 2 flower growing areas, 2 vegetable growing areas, 2 pepper growing areas, 2 rice growing areas, 1 coffee growing area and 1 dairy farming area). Only 56 enterprises are recognized as hi-tech agricultural enterprises. These are very low numbers compared to the expectations of the Government and localities. In particular, there is a lack of information related to the area of production areas, the scale of investment enterprises and especially economic efficiency.

So what is the cause of the slow development of high-tech agricultural production in terms of both scale and efficiency.

First of all, perhaps our approach is not quite right with high-tech agricultural production . Most people implicitly consider high technology in agriculture as the duty and responsibility of enterprises and always take net houses, greenhouses, even greenhouses, drip irrigation according to Israeli technology as the standard for high technology.

So how can high-tech agriculture really come to life, develop on a large scale and bring convincing effects to everyone involved in the production chain.

Firstly, agricultural production with high technology must be the cause of the whole people, both produced in centrally planned areas (high-tech agricultural zones) and applying one or more technologies. advanced in farmer households, farms and businesses. 

Second, high-tech agricultural production models, projects and zones must have "application" and "commercial" goals, instead of just technology demonstration.  

Third, the production organization must take specific steps, avoid the movement, go from small scale to large scale, suitable to the investment capacity of enterprises and people, towards applied agricultural production. high technology on the scale of the whole province, ecological region and the whole country (in developed countries, there is no concept of hi-tech agricultural production zones because the whole country has produced high-tech applications).

Fourth, the selected product must have differences (special products, specialties), have high competitive advantages, have large (current or potential) production scale, have market space and have origin traceable.

Fifth, there must be technology to promote advantages, overcome limitations in natural conditions, weather, climate and climate change scenarios to produce selected advantageous products. Harmonious application of advanced technology with traditional technology and indigenous knowledge.

Sixth, the decisive condition is the participation of enterprises in the production chain, in which enterprises perform the function of "pull", the state "push" (through mechanisms and policies) and people people directly participate. Only enterprises are the ones who decide on products, technologies, investment capital and organize production and consumption associations. I really like the saying of former Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Van Phong: “Only through businesses can the power of science and technology be revealed and promoted. But just business is not enough, and national leaders must also pay attention to this.”

In organizing the implementation of the High-tech Agricultural Program, it is very important to focus on the province and city, so the mechanisms and policies should also benefit the locality instead of just stopping at the ministries and branches. . Each province and city will know its advantages and limitations to make appropriate strategies and plans.

Each locality needs to plan and build hi-tech agricultural production zones with complete infrastructure investment, in which, the Provincial People's Committee invests in infrastructure, enterprises decide to invest in the fields that the province needs to invest in. prioritize

To integrate capital for agricultural production with high technology application with the national target program on building new rural areas, especially capital from the one-commune-one product (OCOP) program; Funding for the task of preserving genetic resources of the program "Supporting the application and transfer of science and technology advances to promote socio-economic development in rural, mountainous and ethnic minority areas in the period 2016-2025".

Localities need to concretize policies to implement Decree No. 57/2018/ND-CP dated April 17, 2018 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas. According to the Institute of Strategy and Policy for Agriculture and Rural Development, up to 70% of agricultural enterprises "claim" to have difficulty accessing credit.

The biggest problem of high-tech agricultural production is the inability to identify the market for "high-tech products". Therefore, for the program to be really effective, the issue of market development is very important and sometimes decisive. The market will decide which products and quality standards need to be met in order to organize production. The eternal problem is to "produce products that the market needs, not what we have", even though the answer is known, it has not been satisfactorily resolved. It can be said that without a market, any product made, regardless of technology application, becomes useless.

Regarding resources for development, we are currently paying much attention to the agricultural extension network with mainly technical programs. However, in order to develop effective high-tech agricultural production, we need to train a team of business managers, farm owners, cooperative directors with content on production management, human resources, market analysis and forecasting. For farmers, technicians should be trained in the method of learning while working at high-tech farms or, if eligible, sent to study in countries and territories with high agricultural development such as Israel, Netherlands, Taiwan...

Implementation organization is very important. The development of high-tech agricultural production must aim at multi-value integration on the basis of linking partners along the chain (production and value). The effectiveness of high-tech application is not only economic but also must meet the requirements of green agriculture, responsibility, and appropriate response to climate change scenarios.

With the above approach, should we switch from "high-tech agricultural production" to "smart agricultural production program". Because in agricultural production, the goal of applying technology, even high technology, is only to produce products with high productivity and good quality. But smart production will have a more multi-dimensional approach, approach production first and foremost based on the needs and market space of the product, on that basis, organize production and search for technology. The smart rice farming program that Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company is coordinating with the National Agricultural Extension Center to conduct in 13 provinces in the Cuu Long River Delta is in this direction and proves in practice to be very effective. .

We hope that with smart agricultural production, high technology application will contribute to the successful implementation of the " Strategy for sustainable agricultural and rural development for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050". so that we have a "prosperous agriculture, rich farmers and civilized countryside"

Source: Nguyen Van Bo - nongnghiepviet.vn